You, every time.

Word count: 1506

Friday the 10th of February

"You're right, I can't keep it in here," Martin conceded after Jackie had left the garage, mercifully distracted by a phone call. 
"Told you," Adam commented to her right. The girl rolled her eyes. Adam Goodman always had to be right. Martin opened the freezer lid again, the boys let out groans of disgust and Maeve clutched subconsciously onto Johnny's upper arm.
"I'll take its head you take its legs, Maeve, you distract Jackie." The man said matter-of-factly.
"Good bye!" Johnny tried to tug the girl out of the room with Adam following in tail. Maeve felt a pull of sympathy for Martin and his strange ideas, although they always got him in heaps of trouble.
"I'll help you, Martin," she gave the man a smile, "it's not doing any good in there, especially not for the vanilla ice cream,"
"It's on the ice cream!" Whined Johnny childishly.
"Come on guys," Maeve tried to reason with the boys, "help him!"
"Why should we?" Adam retorted.
"Out of respect for your father," Martin chimed in. They gave him a sceptical look and Adam scoffed.
"That will cost twenty pounds," Johnny said, causing Maeve to slap him harshly on the arm. Martin sighed, pulling out his wallet in a disgruntled fashion.
"How about 10 pounds and no respect for your father?" He suggested.
"Deal, but you're paying Maeve too." Johnny commented.
"I don't want your money Martin," Maeve told him.
"Fine, I'll take her share." Said Johnny. Maeve shot him a look of incredulity.
"What! I need the money for new kitchen cupboards."

~~~

Martin had sent Maeve into the kitchen to distract Jackie, whilst the boys crept out of the garage with the fox. The woman was talking to Valerie on the phone when she walked in. Maeve gave Jackie a friendly wave.
"Oh! Got to go Val, speak in a bit," Jackie said before turning to the girl, "Hi Maeve. So, now the boys aren't around, how are you really?"
"I hope you're not trying to council me," Maeve joked.
"No!" Replied Jackie, "this is just girl talk."
"I've been alright. The fire felt like a bit of catalyst for change really." She admitted, "That house has never really felt like my own, I was walking in the footsteps of my parents, but I can try and make my own way now. For fear of sounding materialistic," Jackie shook her fervently, as if Maeve could never sound like that, "It's my possessions I miss the most. I left a whole months wages from the bakery on the kitchen counter over night. In the morning it had gone up on flames, like I had never even earned it." Maeve let out a deep sigh, pushing back the tears that threatened to spill.
"Oh love," Jackie smiled sweetly and pulled the girl into a small hug. It was then that Maeve heard the door. That would be Johnny - checking if the coast was clear. She needed to keep the conversation going.
"Uh, speaking of work" she began, trying to think of something, "I need a cake box for work tomorrow so I can bring my Victoria sponge into the bakery but I lost mine in the fire. You don't have one by any chance?"
"Oh yes!" Jackie smiled, "It's under the stairs I'll just pop and get it now,".
Maeve found herself smiling. The under-stair cupboard had been a hideaway frequented by the Goodman boys and Maeve in their youth. Martin himself admitted what a good hiding place it was.
Maeve felt her heart drop in her shoes.
"Jackie!" She called out, rushing after the woman into the hallway, "no need to trouble you now!"
Maeve grabbed the woman by her shoulders, steering her sharply away from Johnny Adam and Martin. The boys were wearing the expressions of three people who'd just been caught with their trousers round their ankles and their dicks in the wrong women. But instead of a lady's pelvis, they were clutching the carcass of a half-frozen fox.
Miraculously, Maeve had managed to steer Jackie into the living room, pushing the door shut with her foot. She quickly shot Johnny an apologetic smile as the trio of men rushed through to the dining room.
"Oh love let me just grab it for you now, don't be silly," Jackie insisted, bustling back out into the hallway. Much to Maeve's relief, her two friends and the dead fox were no where to be seen. Jackie returned, sporting the cake box which she thrust into the girls open hands.
"Now let me just get the potatoes from the kitchen and we can figure out where those silly boys have gone!" Jackie spun round the corner into the kitchen.
As soon as she was out of sight, Maeve let out a visible sigh, her chest heaving from all the lies. Flinging the door to the kitchen open, she was met by the three Goodman boys standing in a formation that resembled a church choir. They seemed to be guarding something, which she could only assuming was the hidden fox.
"God, we thought you were Jackie," Martin breathed out.
"I'm not but she'll be here in a minute," she gave the fox's hiding place a quick glance, "seriously? The dining room?"
"Well it wasn't our first choice but you can't be picky when you're stashing road kill!" Johnny said, sarcasm bright in his voice. This earned a quick eye roll from Maeve.

~~~

They had barely sat down at the dinner table before Jackie was back on her feet.
"What do you think you're doing?" Martin demanded, standing awkwardly from his place at the table.
"Open in a window!" His wife retorted.
Maeve placed her head in her hands. Despite the stress it was causing her, she was secretly enjoying the chaotic Goodman family dinners. Maeve had truly missed them and their strange ways, even if she wasn't going to admit that aloud.
Johnny gave the girl a comforting hand on her shoulder, rubbing back and forth with his thumb. She met his eyes and shot him a smirk which said: this is hilarious but laughing right now would be as good as suicide.
There childhood short-hand truly was coming in handy that night.
"Sit down." Martin pointed to Jackie's chair.
"Martin!" The woman gasped, surprised that he would act like this in front of Maeve.
"I said sit down." He repeated.
"Yes sir!" Jackie mocked, taking her seat once more.
"Thank you," Martin sighed.
"I'll do it," offered the girl, leaping up from her seat to prop open the window and doing her best not to look down or take any deep breaths.
"It's really lovely food, Jackie," Martin commented, obviously trying to change the subject. A chorus of agreements from the young adults followed.
"Smells nice too!"
"Jesus!" Maeve groaned, grabbing onto Johnny's hand. His eyes widened with the rest of his family's when they saw Jim. He looked like some terrifying painting framed by the rim of the window.
"God!" Cried Martin. Sheepishly, Maeve pulled her hand from Johnny's. The boys face suggested he had hardly noticed, but his expression fell by a fraction when her hand dropped from his - barely enough to be visible. But it was enough for Maeve.
"Jim!" Jackie said, "What are you doing there?"
"Well I was about to ring the doorbell, when, the little girl," Jim gestured to Maeve who gave the odd man a slight nod, "opened the window."
"Maeve, this is Jim - our neighbour, Jim this is Maeve one of our friends," Johnny introduced.
"I'm more of a friend, than a neighbour actually, Mac," Jim grinned unnervingly.
"It's Maeve, Jim," corrected Johnny.
"Nice to meet you, Jim!" Maeve smiled at the strange fellow.
"And you, Mac."
"It's- nevermind." The girl shook her head.
"Maybe just come back later, Jim?" Adam offered.
"Yeah, later Jim," added Johnny.
"Of course! I'll see you all..." Jim's eyes panned down. Maeve watched as his expression sank slowly when he met the fox's dead eyes.
"Jim?" Jackie prompted him.
"He's fine," Adam said quickly, "thanks Jim!".
"Yeah, thanks a lot Jim," Martin said. Maeve tried to give the man a wave but Johnny lowered the girl's hand with his own, gently shaking his head as if to say: don't bother.
"We are just having our dinner," continued Adam.
"Our *traditional*, *Jewish*, dinner," Johnny gave the man a suggestive look. Maeve shot the boy a sceptical eye-brow raise. Would this man truly believe that Jewish people killed foxes as some sort of ritual? But Jim surprised her:
"Of course! And will you be eating the-"
Adam leapt up from the table. "Okay! Better get on!"
"What does it taste like?" He asked.
Adam swiftly pressed two hands against the man's chest and pushed he backwards out of the window.
"By now Jim!" He said brightly.
"Bye Jim!" The family including Maeve called out after him.
Adam shut the window with a bang.